The Week In... Pharma (27/04-01/05)

Astra Zeneca and MSD’s Lynparza shows a survival benefit in prostate cancer patients, world leaders back the WHO’s COVID-19 drive, diagnostics specialist Novacyt are to supply the DHSC with COVID-19 tests, and millions of Australians download a coronavirus tracing app.

The show of unity behind the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with leaders from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

India is among the largest manufacturer of generic drugs and vaccines in the world. It is home to half a dozen major vaccine makers and a host of smaller ones, making doses against polio, meningitis, pneumonia, rotavirus, BCG, measles, mumps and rubella, among other diseases.

Diagnostics specialist Novacyt has signed a supply contract with the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for its COVID-19 (CE IVD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, developed by Primerdesign, the company’s molecular diagnostics division based in the UK.